Where The Lilies Cry [Paperback]

C. Stephen Badgley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 2008

A work of Historical Fact and Fiction set in the often turbulent times of the early American frontier. The Indian Nations of the Ohio Country fought desperately to hold onto their land and their way of life against the overwhelming tide of settlers pouring down the Ohio River and streaming across the borders of their homeland. This is the story of the small village of Shawnee and Lenape people who lived below the falls in the Great Bend area of the Ohio River and the family of the trader, James Letart, an adopted member of the Shawnee Nation. So, prepare yourself for a journey back in time to experience a way of life that will never be again. Share the love and laughter of these people during the peaceful times. Sense the anger,sadness and disappoinment they had to endure in times of conflict. Imagine if you were in their place, their time. How would you have fared? What would you have done?

Product Details

• Paperback: 202 pages
• Publisher: Badgley Publishing Company (July 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615223826
• ISBN-13: 978-0615223827
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,866,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Look at Casualties In the Fight for Independence, February 28, 2009

By 

Diana Fields "mountainbookwoman" (Narrows, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where The Lilies Cry (Paperback)

"A Pioneer on the new frontier of Self-Publishing" is how C. Stephen Badgley describes himself and his Ohio based book publishing company. Steve is a modern self-publishing pioneer who comes from a long line of pioneers. Many of whom you can read about in his self-published historical fiction novel "Where the Lilies Cry" set around present day Meigs County, OH during the tumultuous times of the early American frontier when the culture of the Native Americans was being destroyed by not only the encroachment of the countless European settlers but also by the power struggle between the British and the French governments for control over this new land and all its resources.

Badgley, a Marine combat Vietnam veteran, is an avid historian with a fascination for the French and Indian War, has combined his personal genealogical research and factual historical research with a bit of fictional imaginings to create a novel of the life of his early Ohio frontier ancestor's who were mix of French and Shawnee. James Letart/Letort was an actual Frenchman who married a Shawnee maiden and operated a trading post in Pennsylvania as early as 1704. Their descendants in turn progressed westward settling along the Ohio River in Meigs County. The mix of cultures often led to violent disputes, which were escalated by the military powers of the varying governments as the need suited their agendas. Much in the same way wars are waged in these "modern" times.

For the most part, the European families, who came to America in search of freedom, lived side by side with the native inhabitants often inter-marrying and sharing cultural customs. But there were many who came in search of money and power and for them there was no such thing as peace. "Where the Lilies Cry" tells the story of these times from the voice of James Letart's grandson, Chingwe, an old Shawnee warrior as told to his grandchildren, Blue Feather, Dark Sky and Gray Squirrel. The narrative is told with simple language as to be understandable to young children while still providing enough detail to keep the attention of an adult.

The two main characters are Chingwe's father, James Letart Jr. or Cahiktodo, as he prefers to be called, and his wife, Bluebird. Cahiktodo is torn between his father's desire for him to take over the family trading business and his own desire to protect and preserve his native people's culture. He prefers his Indian family's way of life to the "civilized" ways of the Europeans. The couple becomes caught in the middle of the American Revolution, hated and feared by the Colonists and used and lied to by the British, leaving them no choice but to abandon their ancestral home and move north in order to avoid conflict with the whites. Bluebird is torn from her beautiful field of lilies she planted from bulb she received as a gift from a white woman years ago during Bluebird's one trip from Ohio to Philadelphia. That trip she learned that their where good and kind whites, but there were also mean and cruel ones as well. And just as there were many Indians who were peaceful and kind and tolerant of the whites, there were also many, driven by the fear of the extinction of their race and culture, that felt the need to kill every white they encountered.

"Not all people are bad, just as none are all good." Tecumseh 1790.

Bluebird cannot let go of her precious lily field. As a result, Cahiktodo is compelled to make the dangerous trip back to the place his people once lived in peace, near the falls on the Ohio, so Bluebird can gather some of the lily bulbs to replant at their new home in the North. The trip turns fatal as they are discovered by the most feared white man the Indians have ever known Lewis Wetzel or "The Death Wind" as he is called on account of the piercing scream he lets out every time he kills another Indian.

"I suppose I should be ashamed to say that I take the Western view of the Indian. I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every ten are, and I shouldn't like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth." Theodore Roosevelt 1886

The history of the American Revolution has been written primarily from the perspective of the victors. "Where the Lilies Cry" is a fictional insight into the view of the Native Americans who were the real losers in the battle for Independence.
Badgley has included at the end of this novel, in lieu of textual footnotes, an appendix, which separates fact from fiction for each chapter. It gives many details of the various battles along the Ohio River that changed the lives of the Native Americans forever.

Grand Council of American Indians 1927
"The white people, who are trying to make us over into their image, they want us to be what they call "assimilated", bringing the Indians into the mainstream and destroying our own way of life and our own cultural patterns. They believe we should be contented like those whose concept of happiness is materialistic and greedy, which is very different from our way."
"We want freedom from the white man rather than to be integrated. We don't want any part of the establishment, we want to be free to raise our children in our religion, in our ways, to be able to hunt and fish and live in peace. We don't want power; we don't want to be congressmen, or bankers....we want to be ourselves. We want to have our heritage, because we are the owners of this land and because we belong here."
"The white man says there is freedom and justice for all. We have had "freedom and justice", and that is why we have almost been exterminated. We shall not forget this."

There will always be conflict. It is as natural as day and night. And there are always two sides to every conflict. The challenge is to remain true to your own heartfelt convictions; regardless of the side it causes you to choose. But be mindful that violence NEVER brings peace. Peaceful co-existence can only come from co-operation and mutual respect.

As with many self-published books, this one lacks some of the finer points of publishing. The text is large type and the paragraphs are all double-spaced, which gives the printing a juvenile feel, or perhaps even the feel of an uncompleted work that is trying to make itself larger than it really is. "Where the Lilies Cry" would have been better as series of chapters in a longer saga, or perhaps presented as a short story in a series of period recollections. Regardless, this was an enjoyable read that I can happily recommend. This is the second historical fiction book written by Badgley. His first is titled "Arcadia".